Methods and devices for facilitating access terminal registrations

ABSTRACT

Access terminals and network nodes are adapted to conduct access terminal registrations. In one example, an access terminal may obtain a data message for transmission, and registration information associated with the access terminal. The access terminal may send a message including the data message and the registration information. A network node can receive a message from an access terminal, where the received message includes a data message and access terminal registration information. The network node can register the access terminal with a network based on the access terminal registration information included in the received message. The network node can also process the data message included in the received message. Other aspects, embodiments, and features are also claimed and described.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION & PRIORITY CLAIMS

The present Application for Patent claims priority to ProvisionalApplication No. 61/554,822 entitled “PERIODIC REGISTRATION VALUE PERDEVICE CLASS” filed Nov. 2, 2011, and to Provisional Application No.61/554,828 entitled “IMPLICIT REGISTRATION VIA DATA BURST MESSAGES”filed Nov. 2, 2011, both of which are assigned to the assignee hereof.Both are hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to wirelesscommunication, and more specifically, to devices, systems, and methodsfor facilitating access terminal registrations.

BACKGROUND

Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide varioustypes of communication content such as voice, video, packet data,messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be accessed byvarious types of devices adapted to facilitate wireless communications,where multiple devices share the available system resources (e.g., time,frequency, and power). Examples of such wireless communications systemsinclude code-division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time-divisionmultiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency-division multiple access(FDMA) systems and orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA)systems.

A variety of devices are adapted to utilize such wireless communicationssystems. Such devices may be generally referred to as access terminals.Some access terminals may be stationary, or at least substantiallystationary, such as access terminals adapted for machine-to-machine(M2M) communications (also sometimes referred to as machine-typecommunication or MTC). An M2M adapted access terminal may include anaccess terminal that is adapted to operate at least substantiallywithout user interaction. Such M2M adapted access terminals may operateon a limited power source, such as a battery.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME EXAMPLES

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects ofthe present disclosure, in order to provide a basic understanding ofsuch aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of allcontemplated features of the disclosure, and is intended neither toidentify key or critical elements of all aspects of the disclosure norto delineate the scope of any or all aspects of the disclosure. Its solepurpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of thedisclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detaileddescription that is presented later.

In some instances, features which may conserve power and assist inextending the operating life of an access terminal's limited powersource can be beneficial. Various features and aspects of the presentdisclosure are adapted to facilitate power conservation in an accessterminal by facilitating optimized access terminal registrations.

According to at least one aspect of the present disclosure, accessterminals may include a communications interface and a storage mediumcoupled with a processing circuit. The processing circuit can be adaptedto obtain a data message for transmission via the communicationsinterface, and obtain registration information associated with theaccess terminal The processing circuit may further be adapted to send,via the communications interface, a message including the data messageand the registration information.

Further aspects provide methods operational on access terminals and/oraccess terminals including means to perform such methods. One or moreexamples of such methods may include obtaining a data message fortransmission and registration information associated with the accessterminal A message may be sent, where the message includes both the datamessage and the registration information.

Yet further aspects include computer-readable mediums includingprogramming operational on an access terminal According to one or moreexamples, such programming may be adapted for obtaining a data messagefor transmission, and for obtaining registration information associatedwith the access terminal. The programming may be further adapted forsending a message including the data message and the registrationinformation.

Additional aspects include network nodes including a communicationsinterface and a storage medium coupled with a processing circuit. Theprocessing circuit can be adapted to receive, via the communicationsinterface, a message from an access terminal, where the message includesa data message and access terminal registration information. Theprocessing circuit may further be adapted to register the accessterminal with a network based on the access terminal registrationinformation included in the received message.

Further aspects provide methods operational on network nodes and/ornetwork nodes including means to perform such methods. One or moreexamples of such methods may include receiving a message from an accessterminal, where the message includes both a data message and accessterminal registration information. The access terminal can subsequentlybe registered with a network based on the access terminal registrationinformation included in the received message.

Still further aspects include computer-readable mediums includingprogramming operational on a network node. According to one or moreexamples, such programming may be adapted for receiving from an accessterminal a message including a data message and access terminalregistration information. The programming may further be adapted forregistering the access terminal with a network based on the accessterminal registration information included in the received message.

Other aspects, features, and embodiments of the present invention willbecome apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewingthe following description of specific, exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures. Whilefeatures of the present invention may be discussed relative to certainembodiments and figures below, all embodiments of the present inventioncan include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein.In other words, while one or more embodiments may be discussed as havingcertain advantageous features, one or more of such features may also beused in accordance with the various embodiments of the inventiondiscussed herein. In similar fashion, while exemplary embodiments may bediscussed below as device, system, or method embodiments it should beunderstood that such exemplary embodiments can be implemented in variousdevices, systems, and methods.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a networkenvironment in which one or more aspects of the present disclosure mayfind application.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating select components of the wirelesscommunication system of FIG. 1 according to at least one example.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an example for facilitating aplurality of different timer-based registration schedules according toat least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating at least some portions of apacket configuration for a System Parameters Message according to atleast one implementation.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example for facilitating accessterminal registration in response to receiving a data message from theaccess terminal according to at least one aspect of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating select components of an accessterminal according to at least one example.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a method operational on an accessterminal according to at least one implementation.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating another method operational on anaccess terminal according to at least one implementation.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating select components of a networknode according to at least one example.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating a method operational on a networknode according to at least one implementation.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating another method operational on anetwork node according to at least one implementation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The description set forth below in connection with the appended drawingsis intended as a description of various configurations and is notintended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts andfeatures described herein may be practiced. The following descriptionincludes specific details for the purpose of providing a thoroughunderstanding of various concepts. However, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without thesespecific details. In some instances, well known circuits, structures,techniques and components are shown in block diagram form to avoidobscuring the described concepts and features.

The various concepts presented throughout this disclosure may beimplemented across a broad variety of telecommunication systems, networkarchitectures, and communication standards. Certain aspects of thediscussions are described below for 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2(3GPP2) 1x protocols and systems, and related terminology may be foundin much of the following description. However, those of ordinary skillin the art will recognize that one or more aspects of the presentdisclosure may be employed and included in one or more other wirelesscommunication protocols and systems.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a network environment in which one or moreaspects of the present disclosure may find application. The wirelesscommunications system 100 includes base stations 102 adapted tocommunicate wirelessly with one or more access terminals 104. The system100 may support operation on multiple carriers (waveform signals ofdifferent frequencies). Multi-carrier transmitters can transmitmodulated signals simultaneously on the multiple carriers. Eachmodulated signal may be a CDMA signal, a TDMA signal, an OFDMA signal, aSingle Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) signal, etc.Each modulated signal may be sent on a different carrier and may carrycontrol information (e.g., pilot signals), overhead information, data,etc.

The base stations 102 can wirelessly communicate with the accessterminals 104 via a base station antenna. The base stations 102 may eachbe implemented generally as a device adapted to facilitate wirelessconnectivity (for one or more access terminals 104) to the wirelesscommunications system 100. The base stations 102 are configured tocommunicate with the access terminals 104 under the control of a basestation controller (see FIG. 2) via multiple carriers. Each of the basestation 102 sites can provide communication coverage for a respectivegeographic area. The coverage area 106 for each base station 102 here isidentified as cells 106-a, 106-b, or 106-c. The coverage area 106 for abase station 102 may be divided into sectors (not shown, but making uponly a portion of the coverage area). The system 100 may include basestations 102 of different types (e.g., macro, micro, and/or pico basestations).

One or more access terminals 104 may be dispersed throughout thecoverage areas 106. Each access terminal 104 may communicate with one ormore base stations 102. An access terminal 104 may generally include oneor more devices that communicate with one or more other devices throughwireless signals. Such an access terminal 104 may also be referred to bythose skilled in the art as a user equipment (UE), a mobile station(MS), a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wirelessunit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wirelesscommunications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, amobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, aterminal, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some othersuitable terminology. An access terminal 104 may include a mobileterminal and/or an at least substantially fixed terminal Examples of anaccess terminal 104 include a mobile phone, a pager, a wireless modem, apersonal digital assistant, a personal information manager (PIM), apersonal media player, a palmtop computer, a laptop computer, a tabletcomputer, a television, an appliance, an e-reader, a digital videorecorder (DVR), a machine-to-machine (M2M) enabled device, and/or othercommunication/computing device which communicates, at least partially,through a wireless or cellular network.

Turning to FIG. 2, a block diagram illustrating select components of thewireless communication system 100 is depicted according to at least oneexample. As illustrated, the base stations 102 are included as at leasta part of a radio access network (RAN) 202. The radio access network(RAN) 202 is generally adapted to manage traffic and signaling betweenone or more access terminals 104 and one or more other network entities,such as network entities included in a core network 204. The radioaccess network 202 may, according to various implementations, bereferred to by those skill in the art as a base station subsystem (BSS),an access network, a GSM Edge Radio Access Network (GERAN), etc.

In addition to one or more base stations 102, the radio access network202 can include a base station controller (BSC) 206, which may also bereferred to by those of skill in the art as a radio network controller(RNC). The base station controller 206 is generally responsible for theestablishment, release, and maintenance of wireless connections withinone or more coverage areas associated with the one or more base stations102 which are connected to the base station controller 206. The basestation controller 206 can be communicatively coupled to one or morenodes or entities of the core network 204.

The core network 204 is a portion of the wireless communications system100 that provides various services to access terminals 104 that areconnected via the radio access network 202. The core network 204 mayinclude a circuit-switched (CS) domain and a packet-switched (PS)domain. Some examples of circuit-switched entities include a mobileswitching center (MSC) and visitor location register (VLR), identifiedas MSC/VLR 208, as well as a Gateway MSC (GMSC) 210. Some examples ofpacket-switched elements include a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) 212and a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) 214. Other network entities maybe included, such as a EIR, HLR, VLR and AuC, some or all of which maybe shared by both the circuit-switched and packet-switched domains. Anaccess terminal 104 can obtain access to a public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN) 216 via the circuit-switched domain, and to an IP network218 via the packet-switched domain.

As access terminals 104 operate within the wireless communicationssystem 100, the access terminals 104 typically register with thewireless communications system 100 at periodic intervals. For example,the wireless communications system 100 may be adapted to supporttimer-based registration in which the base stations 102 broadcast aregistration period during which time each access terminal 104 withinthe coverage area for the particular base station 102 can register orre-register with the network. When an access terminal 104 is not activeon the wireless network (e.g., no traffic channel setup, or other formsof registration), the idle access terminal 104 performs registrationeach registration period. Typically, the registration period can be arelatively short interval (e.g., between 15 minutes and 1 hour) in orderfor the system 100 to track the locations of the various accessterminals 104 and avoid page failures, such as in the case ofvoice-based mobile access terminals.

In some instances, one or more of the access terminals 104 may beemployed as machine-to-machine (M2M) enabled devices. Such M2M enabledaccess terminals 104 are adapted to wirelessly communicate with anetwork entity (e.g., an M2M server) at least substantially without userinteraction. M2M access terminals 104 may include a communicationsdevice adapted to capture an event (e.g., a sensor that capturestemperature, a meter to capture inventory level, etc.), which is relayedthrough the wireless communication system 100 to an application (e.g.,software program), where the event data can be translated intomeaningful information (e.g., temperature needs to be lowered/raised,items need to be restocked, etc.). Such M2M enabled access terminals 104may be adapted to send/receive data relatively infrequently. Forexample, a M2M enabled access terminal 104 may be adapted tosend/receive data anywhere from every few hours, to once a month, oreven longer. In such cases, the timer-based registration periodsdescribed above may be burdensome on the M2M enabled access terminals104. That is, because conventional timer-based registration periods maybe relatively short (e.g., on the order of every 15-60 minutes, althoughsome may be less or more frequent), access terminals such as the M2Maccess terminals may consume substantial battery power in order tomaintain registration by registering during each registration period.

According to various aspects of the present disclosure, features may beemployed to reduce the frequency at which at least some accessterminals, such as M2M enabled access terminals, register with thewireless communications system 100. In at least one example, thewireless communications system 100 may be adapted to facilitate aplurality of different timer-based registration schedules. In at leastsome examples, the wireless communications system 100 may be adapted tofacilitate access terminal registration in response to receiving a datatransmission from the access terminal 104.

Referring to FIG. 3, a flow diagram is depicted illustrating an examplefor facilitating a plurality of different timer-based registrationschedules according to at least one aspect of the present disclosure.The access terminal 104 can communicate with one or more network nodes302 associated with the wireless communications system 100, such as abase station (e.g., base station 102 in FIGS. 1 & 2), a base stationcontroller (BSC) (e.g., BSC 206 in FIG. 2), and/or one or morecomponents of the core network (e.g., MSC/VLR 208 in FIG. 2).

Initially, the access terminal 104 may be provided with a particulardevice class (or class designation) 304. For instance, an accessterminal 104 configured for use as a voice-based mobile phone may beprovisioned with a device class designation 304 associated with mobileaccess terminals, whose current location may be important for avoidingpage failures. In other instances, an access terminal 104 configured forM2M communication may be provisioned with a device class associated withM2M enabled access terminals, in order to preserve battery life. In someinstances, the access terminal 104 may not be provisioned with aspecific device class.

The network node 302 can broadcast a message 306 indicating a pluralityof periodic registration schedules. In at least some examples, themessage 306 may be transmitted as a System Parameters Message (MSG_TAG:SPM). By way of example and not limitation, FIG. 4 illustrates at leastsome portions of a packet configuration for a System Parameters Message402 according to at least one example. As shown in FIG. 4, the SystemParameters Message 402 includes a conventional 7-bit field for theregistration period 404. This registration period field 404 can definethe periodic registration schedule for any access terminals 104 that maynot have a class designation, or that have a class designation for whichno specific registration schedule is defined in the System ParametersMessage 402. The System Parameters Message 402 further includes one ormore 7-bit device class fields 406 indicating the periodic registrationschedules associated with specific access terminal class designations.The class-specific registration schedules of the device class fields 406may be provided in addition to, or in the alternative to theconventional registration period field 404 for the conventional periodicregistration schedule.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the access terminal 104 can determine 308 itsregistration schedule according to its provisioned device class. Incases in which the network node does not provide a plurality ofregistration periods or does not provide a matching device classregistration period, the access terminal 104 can simply employ theconventional periodic registration schedule (e.g., as indicated by aregistration period field 404 in FIG. 4). When the network node 302supports class-specific registration schedules, the access terminal 104can register 310 with the network according to the timer-basedregistration schedule indicated in the message received from the networknode 302. According to the foregoing example, an M2M enabled accessterminal 104 can employ a registration schedule associated with an M2Mdevice class, which may employ a longer registration period than aconventional registration schedule to conserve battery power of the M2Menabled access terminal 104.

Turning to FIG. 5, a flow diagram is depicted illustrating an examplefor facilitating access terminal registration in response to thewireless communications system receiving a data message from the accessterminal according to at least one aspect of the present disclosure. Theaccess terminal 104 can communicate with one or more network nodes 502of a wireless communications system. The network node 502 may representone or more network entities, such as a base station (e.g., base station102 in FIGS. 1 & 2), a base station controller (BSC) (e.g., BSC 206 inFIG. 2), and/or one or more components of the core network (e.g.,MSC/VLR 208 in FIG. 2). Initially, a network node 502 may transmit amessage 504 that indicates to the access terminal 104 that the networksupports access terminal registration in combination with reception of adata message from the access terminal 104.

In at least one example, a data message may include a data burst message(DBM). By way of example and not limitation, the following discussionrefers to a data burst message as the data message transmission. Thoseof ordinary skill in the art, however, will recognize that one or moreother message-types may be employed according to differentimplementations of the present disclosure.

The access terminal 104, after learning that the network supports accessterminal registration in combination to receiving a data message, suchas a data burst message, may power down (e.g., enter idle or sleep mode)for a period of time to conserve power, and/or the access terminal 104may skip registering according to a timer-based registration period. Inother implementations, the access terminal 104 may remain current onregistration, but may conserve power at the time of sending a datamessage transmission by combining the access terminal registration withthe data message.

At some point in time, the access terminal 104 may obtain data to betransmitted through the network. The access terminal 104 may generate adata burst message 506 including the obtained data. Because the networksupports access terminal registration in combination with a data burstmessage, the access terminal 104 may also obtain registrationinformation 508 associated with the access terminal 104. The accessterminal 104 then generates and sends a message 510, which includes thedata burst message together with the registration information.

On receipt of the message 510, the network node 502 can register (orupdate the registration of) 512 the access terminal 104. That is, thenetwork node 502 may register the access terminal 104 based on thereceived message 510, without the access terminal 104 otherwiseconnecting to the network node 502. The network node 502 may alsoprocess 514 the data burst message according to conventional proceduresrelating to data burst messages.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating select components of an accessterminal 600 according to at least one example. As shown, the accessterminal 600 generally includes a processing circuit 602 coupled to orplaced in electrical communication with a communications interface 604and a storage medium 606.

The processing circuit 602 is arranged to obtain, process and/or senddata, control data access and storage, issue commands, and control otherdesired operations. The processing circuit 602 may include circuitryadapted to implement desired programming provided by appropriate mediain at least one example. For example, the processing circuit 602 may beimplemented as one or more processors, one or more controllers, and/orother structure configured to execute executable programming. Examplesof the processing circuit 602 may include a general purpose processor, adigital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or otherprogrammable logic component, discrete gate or transistor logic,discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed toperform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor mayinclude a microprocessor, as well as any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processing circuit602 may also be implemented as a combination of computing components,such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a number ofmicroprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSPcore, an ASIC and a microprocessor, or any other number of varyingconfigurations. These examples of the processing circuit 602 are forillustration and other suitable configurations within the scope of thepresent disclosure are also contemplated.

The processing circuit 602 is adapted for processing, including theexecution of programming, which may be stored on the storage medium 606.As used herein, the term “programming” shall be construed broadly toinclude without limitation instructions, instruction sets, data, code,code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules,applications, software applications, software packages, routines,subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures,functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware,microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

The communications interface 604 is configured to facilitate wirelesscommunications of the access terminal 600. For example, thecommunications interface 604 may include circuitry and/or programmingadapted to facilitate the communication of information bi-directionallywith respect to one or more network nodes. The communications interface604 may be coupled to one or more antennas (not shown), and includeswireless transceiver circuitry, including at least one receiver circuit608 (e.g., one or more receiver chains) and/or at least one transmittercircuit 610 (e.g., one or more transmitter chains).

The storage medium 606 may represent one or more computer-readable,machine-readable, and/or processor-readable devices for storingprogramming, such as processor executable code or instructions (e.g.,software, firmware), electronic data, databases, or other digitalinformation. The storage medium 606 may also be used for storing datathat is manipulated by the processing circuit 602 when executingprogramming. The storage medium 606 may be any available media that canbe accessed by a general purpose or special purpose processor, includingportable or fixed storage devices, optical storage devices, and variousother mediums capable of storing, containing and/or carryingprogramming. By way of example and not limitation, the storage medium606 may include a computer-readable, machine-readable, and/orprocessor-readable storage medium such as a magnetic storage device(e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strip), an optical storagemedium (e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD)), a smartcard, a flash memory device (e.g., card, stick, key drive), randomaccess memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM),erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), a register,a removable disk, and/or other mediums for storing programming, as wellas any combination thereof.

The storage medium 606 may be coupled to the processing circuit 602 suchthat the processing circuit 602 can read information from, and writeinformation to, the storage medium 606. That is, the storage medium 606can be coupled to the processing circuit 602 so that the storage medium606 is at least accessible by the processing circuit 602, includingexamples where the storage medium 606 is integral to the processingcircuit 602 and/or examples where the storage medium 606 is separatefrom the processing circuit 602 (e.g., resident in the access terminal600, external to the access terminal 600, and/or distributed acrossmultiple entities).

Programming stored by the storage medium 606, when executed by theprocessing circuit 602, causes the processing circuit 602 to perform oneor more of the various functions and/or process steps described herein.For example, the storage medium 606 may include registration operations612, and/or a class designation 614. The registration operations 612 canbe implemented by the processing circuit 602 to perform access terminalregistrations during a registration period according to the classdesignation 614 and/or in combination with a data message transmission.The class designation 614 may include data adapted to identify a classof access terminal employed to determine a proper registration period tobe employed by the access terminal 600. In examples where the classdesignation 614 is included, the class designation 614 may beprovisioned in the access terminal 600 by the manufacturer or at someother time. Thus, according to one or more aspects of the presentdisclosure, the processing circuit 602 is adapted to perform (inconjunction with the storage medium 606) any or all of the processes,functions, steps and/or routines for any or all of the access terminalsdescribed herein (e.g., access terminal 104 and/or 600). As used herein,the term “adapted” in relation to the processing circuit 602 may referto the processing circuit 602 being one or more of configured, employed,implemented, and/or programmed to perform a particular process,function, step and/or routine according to various features describedherein.

In some instances, the access terminal 600 (e.g., the registrationoperations 612) may be adapted to identify a periodic registrationschedule associated with its respective device class designation (ifany), and register with the network according to the identified periodicregistration schedule. In this manner, each of a plurality of periodregistration schedules can be employed by different access terminalswithout affecting the registration schedules for other access terminals.FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a related method operational on anaccess terminal, such as access terminal 600, according to at least oneexample.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the access terminal 600 may obtain a classdesignation identifying an access terminal class designation associatedwith the access terminal 600 at step 702. For example, the processingcircuit 602 may obtain the class designation 614, and may store theclass designation 614 in the storage medium 606. The class designation614 can indicate a class for the access terminal 600 with respect toperiodic registration schedules available in a particular network. Insome instances, however, the access terminal 600 may not obtain anyparticular class designation.

At step 704, the access terminal 600 may receive a message indicating aplurality of periodic registration schedules. At least one periodicregistration schedule included in the received message can be associatedwith an access terminal class designation. In at least one example, theprocessing circuit 602 executing the registration operations 612 mayreceive the message via the communications interface 604. In at leastsome implementations, the received message may be a System ParametersMessage (MSG_TAG: SPM). Such a system parameters message may be similarto the system parameters message 402 described above with reference toFIG. 4, including a registration period field (e.g., registration periodfield 404 in FIG. 4) indicating a periodic registration schedule foraccess terminals without a class designation, and at least one deviceclass field (e.g., device class field 406 in FIG. 4) indicating aperiodic registration schedule associated with a class designation.

At step 706, the access terminal 600 may determine, from the pluralityof periodic registration schedules, a periodic registration schedule forthe class designation associated with the access terminal 600. Forinstance, the processing circuit 602 executing the registrationoperations 612 can determine a periodic registration schedule associatedwith the class designation 614 stored in the storage medium 606. Inexamples where the message received at step 704 is similar to the systemparameters message depicted in FIG. 4, the processing circuit 602executing the registration operations 612 may evaluate the receivedmessage to identify a device class field associated with the classdesignation 614. When a device class field associated with the classdesignation 614 is identified, the processing circuit 602 executing theregistration operations 612 can apply the indicated periodicregistration schedule for performing access terminal registrations witha network.

In some instances, the access terminal 600 may not be provided with aspecific device class. In other instances, the message received at step704 may not include a periodic registration schedule associated with theclass designation 614 for the access terminal 600. In such cases, theprocessing circuit 602 executing the registration operations 612 canemploy the conventional registration period for the particular network.For example, when the access terminal 600 has no class designation 614,the processing circuit 602 executing the registration operations 612 canemploy the periodic registration schedule indicated by the registrationperiod field (e.g., registration period field 404 in FIG. 4) of thereceived message. Similarly, when the processing circuit 602 executingthe registration operations 612 determines that the received messagedoes not include a periodic registration schedule associated with theclass designation 614 (e.g., no device class field for the classdesignation 614), the processing circuit 602 executing the registrationoperations 612 can employ the periodic registration schedule indicatedby the registration period field (e.g., registration period field 404 inFIG. 4) of the received message.

At step 708, the access terminal 600 may perform periodic accessterminal registrations according to the determined periodic registrationschedule. For instance, the processing circuit 602 executing theregistration operations 612 can perform periodic registrations with thenetwork according to the periodic registration schedule. In one or moreexamples where the class designation 614 is associated with M2M enableddevices, the processing circuit 602 may send registration informationvia the communications interface 604 during each registration period(e.g., once every 10 minutes, once every hour, or longer).

In some instances, the access terminal 600 (e.g., the registrationoperations 612) can be adapted to perform registration with a network bysending a data message, such as a data burst message. Such accessterminal registrations can be performed even when the access terminal600 is not currently registered or connected to the network. In thismanner, the access terminal 600 can power down (e.g., enter sleep and/oridle modes) and skip registrations, but still transmit data when data isobtained for transmission. FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating arelated method operational on an access terminal, such as the accessterminal 600, according to at least one implementation.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 8, an access terminal 600 may receive a messagefrom a network node indicating that the network node supports accessterminal registration in combination with receipt of a data message atstep 802. For example, the processing circuit 602 may receive themessage via the communications interface 604. In at least one example,the received message may be a system parameters message that includes afield (e.g., a one-bit or multi-bit field) adapted to indicate to theprocessing circuit 602 executing the registration operations 612 thatthe network supports access terminal registration in combination withreceiving a data message transmission.

With knowledge that the network supports access terminal registration incombination with receiving a data message transmission, the accessterminal 600 may bypass one or more access terminal registrations atstep 804. For instance, the processing circuit 602 executing theregistration operations 612 may skip one or more periodic registrationswith the network, which may result in the access terminal 600 no longerbeing registered with the network.

At step 806, the access terminal 600 may obtain a data message to betransmitted to the network. For example, the processing circuit 602 mayprepare data according to conventional processes to be transmitted tothe network. In at least some examples, the data may be prepared as adata burst message. A data burst message can be employed fortransmission of relatively small amounts of data without setting up aconnection between the network and the access terminal 104. One exampleof a data burst message includes a short message service (SMS)transmission, commonly referred to as a “text message”. In someexamples, data burst messages can be sent using a reverse commonsignaling channel (R-CSCH) such as, for example, the reverse accesschannel (R-ACH). Data burst messages can be employed by an M2M enabledaccess terminal 104 for transmitting to an M2M server data associatedwith a captured event.

Because the network supports access terminal registration in combinationwith a data message, the access terminal 600 may also obtainregistration information associated with the access terminal 600 at step808. For example, the processing circuit 602 executing the registrationoperations 612 may obtain registration information associated with theaccess terminal 600. The registration information may includeinformation such as a slot cycle index and/or other information that isconventionally employed by a network for access terminal registrations.In at least some implementations, the processing circuit 602 executingthe registration operations 612 may generate a new record (e.g.,GE_REC_TYPE) with the relevant registration information.

At step 810, the access terminal 600 can send a message including thedata message obtained at step 806 and the access terminal registrationinformation obtained at step 808. For example, the processing circuit602 executing the registration operations 612 may generate a messageincluding the data message and the registration information. In at leastone implementation, the processing circuit 602 executing theregistration operations 612 may generate the message by encapsulatingthe data message (e.g., a data burst message) and the registrationinformation (e.g., the new record) into a single generate extensionmessage (GEM). The processing circuit 602 executing the registrationoperations 612 may then transmit the prepared message (e.g., the generalextension message) via the communications interface 604.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating select components of a networknode 900 according to at least one implementation. As shown, the networknode 900 includes a processing circuit 902 coupled to or placed inelectrical communication with a communications interface 904 and to astorage medium 906.

The processing circuit 902 is arranged to obtain, process and/or senddata, control data access and storage, issue commands, and control otherdesired operations. The processing circuit 902 may include circuitryadapted for processing, including the execution and implementation ofprogramming provided by appropriate media, including media stored on thestorage medium 606 in at least one example. Examples and implementationsfor the processing circuit 902 may include any of the various examplesand implementations of the processing circuit 602 described above withreference to FIG. 6. The examples of the processing circuit 902including those set forth with reference to the processing circuit 602in FIG. 6 are for illustration, and other suitable configurations withinthe scope of the present disclosure are also contemplated.

The communications interface 904 is configured to facilitate wiredand/or wireless communications of the network node 900. For example, thecommunications interface 904 may include circuitry and/or programmingadapted to facilitate the communication of information bi-directionallywith respect to one or more access terminals, as well as one or moreother network nodes. The communications interface 904 may be coupled toone or more antennas (not shown), and includes wireless transceivercircuitry, including at least one receiver circuit 908 (e.g., one ormore receiver chains) and/or at least one transmitter circuit 910 (e.g.,one or more transmitter chains).

The storage medium 906 may represent one or more computer-readable,machine-readable, and/or processor-readable devices for storingprogramming, such as processor executable code or instructions (e.g.,software, firmware), electronic data, databases, or other digitalinformation. The storage medium 906 may also be used for storing datathat is manipulated by the processing circuit 902 when executingprogramming. The storage medium 906 may be any available media that canbe accessed by a general purpose or special purpose processor, includingportable or fixed storage devices, optical storage devices, and variousother mediums capable of storing, containing and/or carryingprogramming. Examples of the storage medium 906 may include any of theexamples included in the description of the storage medium 606 set forthabove with reference to FIG. 6.

The storage medium 906 may be coupled to the processing circuit 902 suchthat the processing circuit 902 can read information from, and writeinformation to, the storage medium 906. That is, the storage medium 906can be coupled to the processing circuit 902 so that the storage medium906 is at least accessible by the processing circuit 902, includingexamples where the storage medium 906 is integral to the processingcircuit 902 and/or examples where the storage medium 906 is separatefrom the processing circuit 902 (e.g., resident in the network node 900,external to the network node 900, and/or distributed across multipleentities).

Programming stored by the storage medium 906, when executed by theprocessing circuit 902, causes the processing circuit 902 to perform oneor more of the various functions and/or process steps described herein.For example, the storage medium 906 may include registration operations912. The registration operations 912 can be implemented by theprocessing circuit 902 to perform access terminal registrations during aplurality of registration periods according to class designations and/orin combination with a data message transmission. Thus, according to oneor more aspects of the present disclosure, the processing circuit 902 isadapted to perform (in conjunction with the storage medium 906) any orall of the processes, functions, steps and/or routines for any or all ofthe network nodes described herein (e.g., network nodes 302, 402, and/or900). As used herein, the term “adapted” in relation to the processingcircuit 902 may refer to the processing circuit 902 being one or more ofconfigured, employed, implemented, and/or programmed to perform aparticular process, function, step and/or routine according to variousfeatures described herein.

In some instances, the network node 900 can be adapted to facilitate aplurality of different timer-based registration periods. For example,the network node 900 can be adapted in at least some implementations tofacilitate different timer-based registration periods based on deviceclass. FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating a related methodoperational on a network node, such as the network node 900, accordingto at least one implementation.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, a network node 900 may obtain a pluralityof periodic registration schedules at step 1002. At least one periodicregistration schedule of the plurality can be associated with an accessterminal class. In at least one example, the processing circuit 902executing the registration operations 912 may obtain the plurality ofregistration schedules. In some instances, the processing circuit 902executing the registration operations 912 may generate the plurality ofperiodic registration schedules. In other instances, the processingcircuit 902 executing the registration operations 912 may receive theplurality of periodic registration schedules via the communicationsinterface 904 from another network entity.

At least one of the periodic registration schedules may be aregistration schedule for any access terminal without a classdesignation. One or more of the other periodic registration schedulesmay be associated with an access terminal class. For instance, aperiodic registration schedule may be implemented for a first class ofaccess terminals, such as voice-based mobile phones, where theregistration schedule may include periods of only a few minutes so thenetwork can track the locations of the various access terminals andavoid page failures. Another periodic registration schedule may beimplemented for a second class of access terminal, such as M2M enabledaccess terminals, where the registration period may be substantiallylonger (e.g., every 10 minutes, every hour, or longer).

At step 1004, the network node 900 may transmit a message including theplurality of periodic registration schedules. For instance, theprocessing circuit 902 executing the registration operations 912 maytransmit the message via the communications interface 904. In one ormore implementations, the message may be a system parameters message,such as the system parameters message 402 described above with referenceto FIG. 4. As described above, the system parameters message 402 caninclude a registration period field indicating a periodic registrationschedule for access terminals without a class designation, and one ormore device class fields indicating a periodic registration scheduleassociated with an access terminal class designation.

At step 1006, the network node 900 may conduct access terminalregistrations according to the plurality of periodic registrationschedules. For example, the processing circuit 902 executing theregistration operations 912 may conduct the access terminalregistrations according to the respective registration periodsassociated with the registration schedules. In at least one example, theprocessing circuit 902 executing the registration operations 912 mayreceive registration transmissions via the communications interface 904from one or more access terminals during each respective registrationperiod. The processing circuit 902 executing the registration operations912 can further register each respective access terminal from which aregistration transmission is received.

In some instances, the network node 900 can be adapted to register anaccess terminal in combination with receiving a data message from theaccess terminal Such registrations may be performed even when the accessterminal is not currently registered or connected with the network. Inthis manner, the network node 900 can register an access terminal thatmay have bypassed one or more registrations, and subsequently transmitsa data message. FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating a related methodoperational on a network node, such as the network node 900, accordingto at least one implementation.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 11, a network node 900 may transmit anindication that the network node 900 supports access terminalregistration in combination with reception of a data message at step1102. For example, the processing circuit 902 executing the registrationoperations 912 may broadcast a message via the communications interface904, where the message is adapted to indicate to a receiving accessterminal that registration can be conducted in combination withtransmitting a data message. In at least one implementation, the messagebroadcast by the network node 900 may be a system parameters message.The indication in such implementations may be a one-bit or multi-bitfield in the system parameters message adapted to indicate networksupport for access terminal registration in combination with receiving adata message transmission.

At step 1104, the network node 900 may receive a message from an accessterminal, where the message includes a data message and access terminalregistration information. For instance, the processing circuit 902executing the registration operations 912 may receive the message froman access terminal via the communications interface 904. In one or moreexamples, the received message may be a general extension messageincluding the data message and the registration information. The datamessage included in the received message may be a data burst message inone or more instances.

At step 1106, the network node 900 can register the access terminal witha network based on the access terminal registration information includedin the received message. For instance, in response to receiving themessage from an access terminal, the processing circuit 902 executingthe registration operations 912 can register the particular accessterminal with the network according to the access terminal registrationinformation included in the received message.

In addition to registering the access terminal, the network node 900 mayalso process the data message included in the received message at step1108. For example, processing circuit 902 may process the data messageincluded in the received message even without the access terminal beingregistered with the network prior to receiving the message at step 1106.The data message (e.g., data burst message) may be processing accordingto conventional processing for received data messages in a wirelessnetwork.

While the above discussed aspects, arrangements, and embodiments arediscussed with specific details and particularity, one or more of thecomponents, steps, features and/or functions illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2,3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and/or 11 may be rearranged and/or combined intoa single component, step, feature or function or embodied in severalcomponents, steps, or functions. Additional elements, components, steps,and/or functions may also be added or not utilized without departingfrom the invention. The apparatus, devices and/or components illustratedin FIGS. 1, 2, 6 and/or 9 may be configured to perform or employ one ormore of the methods, features, parameters, or steps described in FIGS.3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10 and/or 11. The novel algorithms described herein mayalso be efficiently implemented in software and/or embedded in hardware.

Also, it is noted that at least some implementations have been describedas a process that is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, astructure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describethe operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can beperformed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of theoperations may be re-arranged. A process is terminated when itsoperations are completed. A process may correspond to a method, afunction, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a processcorresponds to a function, its termination corresponds to a return ofthe function to the calling function or the main function. The variousmethods described herein may be partially or fully implemented byprogramming (e.g., instructions and/or data) that may be stored in amachine-readable, computer-readable, and/or processor-readable storagemedium, and executed by one or more processors, machines and/or devices.

Those of skill in the art would further appreciate that the variousillustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm stepsdescribed in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may beimplemented as hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, orany combination thereof. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability,various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and stepshave been described above generally in terms of their functionality.Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or softwaredepends upon the particular application and design constraints imposedon the overall system.

The various features associate with the examples described herein andshown in the accompanying drawings can be implemented in differentexamples and implementations without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure. Therefore, although certain specific constructionsand arrangements have been described and shown in the accompanyingdrawings, such embodiments are merely illustrative and not restrictiveof the scope of the disclosure, since various other additions andmodifications to, and deletions from, the described embodiments will beapparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the scope of thedisclosure is only determined by the literal language, and legalequivalents, of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. An access terminal, comprising: a communicationsinterface; a storage medium; and a processing circuit coupled to thecommunications interface and the storage medium, the processing circuitadapted to: obtain a data message for transmission via thecommunications interface; obtain registration information associatedwith the access terminal; and send a message via the communicationsinterface, the message comprising the data message and the registrationinformation.
 2. The access terminal of claim 1, wherein the messagecomprising the data message together with the registration informationis a general extension message.
 3. The access terminal of claim 1,wherein the processing circuit is further adapted to: receive atransmission via the communications interface before sending themessage, wherein the received transmission indicates that a network inwhich the access terminal is currently operating supports accessterminal registration in combination with receipt of a data message. 4.The access terminal of claim 1, wherein the data message comprises adata burst message.
 5. The access terminal of claim 1, wherein theprocessing circuit is further adapted to: skip one or more registrationsbefore the data message is obtained for transmission.
 6. A methodoperational on an access terminal, comprising: obtaining a data messagefor transmission; obtaining registration information associated with theaccess terminal; and sending a message comprising the data message andthe registration information.
 7. The method of claim 6, whereinobtaining a data message for transmission comprising: obtaining a databurst message for transmission.
 8. The method of claim 6, whereinsending the message comprising the data message and the registrationinformation comprises: sending a general extension message comprisingthe data message and the registration information.
 9. The method ofclaim 6, further comprising: prior to sending the message comprising thedata message and the registration information, receiving a transmissionindicating that a network in which the access terminal is operatingsupports access terminal registration in combination with receipt of adata message.
 10. The method of claim 6, further comprising: bypassingone or more access terminal registrations prior to obtaining the datamessage for transmission.
 11. An access terminal, comprising: means forobtaining a data message for transmission; means for obtainingregistration information associated with the access terminal; and meansfor sending a message comprising the data message and the registrationinformation.
 12. The access terminal of claim 11, further comprising:means for receiving a transmission indicating that a network in whichthe access terminal is operating supports access terminal registrationin combination with receipt of a data message, wherein the transmissionis receive prior to sending the message comprising the data message andthe registration information.
 13. The access terminal of claim 11,further comprising: means for bypassing one or more access terminalregistrations prior to obtaining the data message for transmission. 14.A computer-readable medium, comprising programming for: obtaining a datamessage for transmission; obtaining registration information associatedwith the access terminal; and sending a message comprising the datamessage and the registration information.
 15. The computer-readablemedium of claim 14, further comprising programming for: receiving atransmission indicating that a network in which the access terminal isoperating supports access terminal registration in combination withreceipt of a data message.
 16. The computer-readable medium of claim 14,further comprising programming for: skipping one or more registrationsbefore the data message is obtained for transmission.
 17. A networknode, comprising: a communications interface; a storage medium; and aprocessing circuit coupled to the communications interface and thestorage medium, the processing circuit adapted to: receive via thecommunications interface a message from an access terminal, wherein themessage comprises a data message and access terminal registrationinformation; and register the access terminal with a network based onthe access terminal registration information included in the receivedmessage.
 18. The network node of claim 17, wherein the received messagecomprises a general extension message.
 19. The network node of claim 17,wherein the data message included in the received message comprises adata burst message.
 20. The network node of claim 17, wherein theprocessing circuit is further adapted to: broadcast via thecommunications interface an indication that the network node supportsaccess terminal registration in combination with a data messagetransmission.
 21. The network node of claim 20, wherein the indicationcomprises a field broadcast in a system parameters message.
 22. Thenetwork node of claim 17, wherein the processing circuit is furtheradapted to: process the data message included in the received messagewithout the access terminal being registered with the network prior toreceiving the received message.
 23. A method operational on a networknode, comprising: receiving a message from an access terminal, themessage comprising a data message and access terminal registrationinformation; and registering the access terminal with a network based onthe access terminal registration information included in the receivedmessage.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein receiving the message fromthe access terminal comprises: receiving a general extension messagecomprising the data message and the access terminal registrationinformation.
 25. The method of claim 23, wherein receiving the messagefrom the access terminal, the message comprising the data message andthe access terminal registration information comprises: receiving themessage from the access terminal, the message comprising a data burstmessage and the access terminal registration information comprises. 26.The method of claim 23, further comprising: transmitting an indicationto the access terminal that the network node supports access terminalregistration in combination with reception of a data message.
 27. Themethod of claim 23, further comprising: processing the data messageincluded in the received message without the access terminal beingregistered with the network prior to receiving the received message. 28.A network node, comprising: means for receiving a message from an accessterminal, the message comprising a data message and access terminalregistration information; and means for registering the access terminalwith a network based on the access terminal registration informationincluded in the received message.
 29. The network node of claim 28,wherein the received message comprises a general extension message. 30.The network node of claim 28, wherein the data message included in thereceived message comprises a data burst message.
 31. The network node ofclaim 28, further comprising: means for broadcasting an indication thatthe network node supports access terminal registration in combinationwith reception of a data message.
 32. The network node of claim 28,further comprising: means for processing the data message included inthe received message without the access terminal being registered withthe network prior to receiving the received message.
 33. Acomputer-readable medium, comprising programming for: receiving amessage from an access terminal, the message comprising a data messageand access terminal registration information; and registering the accessterminal with a network based on the access terminal registrationinformation included in the received message.
 34. The computer-readablemedium of claim 33, further comprising programming for: transmitting anindication that the network node supports access terminal registrationin combination with reception of a data message.
 35. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 33, further comprising programmingfor: processing the data message included in the received messagewithout the access terminal being registered with the network prior toreceiving the received message.